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Fruity fragrance, good length of burning hours.

I have bought a few products from the Yankee Candle range and found they are extremely good value for money and smell gorgeous. When I spotted this fragranced tart while on a visit to a garden centre I decided to buy it after sniffing the scent. I liked the scent when I sniffed it and thought it would smell far better once the wrapping had been removed and the wax began to melt.

It comes inside a transparent plastic wrapper and the tart is circular and it is a nice red colour. The name is very clear on the front and very easy to spot on a shelf. Once the wrapper is removed the smell of the tart is very apparent and quite strong. It has a nice fruity smell and has a mixture of orange and cranberry with a hint of perfume in my opinion. The smell is gorgeous and I like it a lot.

You just have to place the tart on the top of an oil burner and place a tealight underneath in the area for the tealight and then just light the tealight. As the tart slowly melts it begins to become a pool of liquid and becomes quite hot. It takes a while for the tart to melt and takes around 30 minutes or so to completely melt and become the pool of liquid.

As it slowly melts it slowly releases the fragrance into the air, the fragrance becomes more apparent as it melts and once it has fully melted the aroma of the scent remains in the air all the time the tealight is lit. I find this scent is quite strong and doesn't disappear soon after it melts. The fruity aroma smells really pleasant in the room and is suitable for all occasions. It isn't a romantic scent bt would still be suitable for a dinner party if you want a fresh smell in the dining area. It wouldn't be an off putting smell while eating your meal with your friends or family.

When I first melted the tart I place my oil burner in my dining room and closed the door to see how strong a smell it turned out to be with my door closed. I returned after around 30 minutes or so and when I opened the door I could most definitely smell the fruity fragrance and was a really fresh, sweet smell and really apparent. I then left the door open and returned after another 30 minutes or so and the smell hit my nose immediately. This fragrance certainly does have a strong aroma and one which has equal scents of the orange and cranberry. I don't think one dominates the other scent and both are exactly the same. I thought the mandarin one would dominate the cranberry but I cannot detect the mandarin being the dominant scent with this tart.

I do find the longer it melts the stronger the fragrance appears to be apparent in the room. It simply helps the air in the room it is placed smell a whole lot nicer and I have an elderly cat who doesn't really want to go outdoors so much these days and this tart just helps my home smell a little nicer and not a smell of my cat. It is a nice fragrance to help remove those nasty pet smells from the room.

The tart has up to 8 hours burning time and I think it comes pretty close to this amount of hours, I would say this one maybe burns a little longer and maybe up to 9 hours or so.

Once you distinguish the flame from the tealight, the pool of liquid slowly becomes solid again and sets really well. It melts again in the same way when lighting the tealight again the next time you want to melt it.

I would advise making a decision where you want to place the tart in a room before melting it because the melted liquid can burn your skin badly if you spill the liquid onto your hands while transporting the oil burner into a different room or different area of a room.

I paid just a £1 for the tart from a garden centre but they are generally priced at around the £1.30 mark. I think the price is super and really good value for money for the amount of burning time. The quality of the wax is super quality too.

I really recommend this tart to anyone who loves a nice fruity, fresh fragrance and it is one I will certainly buy again in the future because it freshens the air and gives a nice scent to any room it is placed. I don't think you would be disappointed in the fragrance of this tart to help your room smell nice and fresh and well fragranced.

I give this tart 5 stars.

Also appears on Ciao under my username pinky50.

Thank you for reading my review and I hope it has been of some help.

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A lovely fruity scented wax tart from Yankee

I've always had a thing for scented candles and previous to this I used to regularly buy scented oils and incense sticks to fragrance my home. Since reading such glowing reports on review sites about the company Yankee Candle and their products I've been hooked and after purchasing my first votive sampler candle around 2 years ago I've been buying their products regularly ever since.

Although I do like candles I've found the wax tarts more preferable, being cheaper for one thing, and aren't as much of a waste of money if the scent isn't what I expected it to be. I recently placed an order for a batch of 5 mixed wax tarts from amazon, as I had a £5 voucher to redeem which normally gets spent on my two sons, and decided for once to treat myself as my stock of wax tarts had seriously diminished and needed replenishing.

I had no idea about which wax tarts would be sent but I was very pleased with the choice, and this review focuses on one from my bundle - Mandarin Cranberry..

When I placed my order I had no idea which fragrances would be chosen and I did hope that I'd like at least two or three as ordering blindly can be risky and I was worried I'd end up with 5 wax tarts that I wasn't keen on. Luckily that wasn't the case at all and I was really quite pleased with the choices and wasted no time in burning them. I did have slight reservations about this particular one however as I'm not a big fan of either mandarin or cranberry scents, though I don't dislike either they are just not my first choice when scenting my home.

I left this wax tart until last and have just finished burning it which is why I feel I can discuss it fully now - so did it win me over in the end?

Although the fragrance is very evident as it emanates from within it's sealed wrapper, I still hadn't fully made my mind up about this as I still wasn't fully sure it was my sort of scent, though I picked it out ready to burn last week deciding I'd either love it or hate it. The packaging certainly makes it look more appealing due to the fruit themed picture situated on the circular sticker showing both juicy cut mandarin oranges and several cranberries clustered around.

After removing the sealed cellophane wrapper I noticed the fragrance was far more inviting so at this point I was looking forward to it scenting the rooms of my home.

The wax tart is a beautiful deep red, tinged with an orange hue and once placed within the centre of my burner it takes around 10 minutes of the lit tea light underneath to start the melting process. In this time the fruity aroma starts to intensify and becomes quite strong, though not overpowering, and wafts into each of my other rooms gently scenting my home. I keep my burner positioned in my kitchen on the window sill as it's not only the safest place I feel but as I live in a small one floor cottage it is the most central room so it seems the most sensible place to burn candles/ wax tarts as the scent infiltrates all of the other rooms evenly though is the most strongest obviously in the kitchen.

Mandarin Cranberry utterly surprised me with just how beautiful it fragranced my home, as I'm not a fan of either scents individually so I did wonder if I'd like the combination of the two together but I needn't of worried.

The cranberry has a tart, tanginess and smells incredibly realistic whilst the mandarin adds a juicier and fruitier notes which complements the cranberry perfectly. I found that though both the cranberry and mandarin were as strong as each other they worked so well together and the overall effect was mouthwateringly beautiful.

Yankee claim their wax tarts give on average 8 hours worth of burning time and I would say this was about right as I burned the wax tart for no longer than 3 hour increments as due to the strength I felt this was enough each time. After around 4/5 hours the scent did start to wane slightly but overall I felt that the longevity displayed here was very impressive.

I admit I didn't fancy this particular fragrance very much and I probably wouldn't have been drawn to it in a shop which is why I do like buying mixed bundles blindly as you never know which you are going to get sent, and I have to say that this has really impressed me. I feel that this mandarin cranberry fragrance has been perfect with the recent warm weather as it's got a fresh summery feel to it due to the authentic fruity scent and as I've been really pleased with both the scent and it's burning time I will definitely buy this one again.

5/5 from me as I really didn't fancy it initially but because of the reasons I've discussed above I feel it gets top marks.

*~*Miscellaneous*~*Yankee wax tarts are available from several online retailers as well as off line such as card shops/ gift shops and even some garden centres. They range in price but the general RRP is around £1.25 for a 22g sized wax tart.

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One of my fave tarts!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~A fruity little number~~~~~~~~~~~~~I always bulk buy my Yankee wax tarts, and I tend to always go for the fruity ones. With my last purchase, however, I chose quite a few different fragrances, just to try something new, but of course I had to chuck in a few fruity numbers.

As I buy ten at a time, each tart costs me around £1, but even on its own it shouldn't cost you much more than this.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~Sweet and orangey ~~~~~~~~~~~~~I knew this would have a lovely sweet fragrance and I was keen to try it out. Through the shrink wrap it smelt amazing, and it was definitely orange that was the most prominent scent. As with all wax tarts, you simply unwrap, pop this into a burner, and light a tealight underneath.

It did take a while for the scent of this to start drifting around the room, but once it did I instantly loved it. It is sweet and fruity and just the type of scent I love. Again, I would say the man fragrance is of oranges, although it isn't too overpowering, and there is definitely a berry scent there too. Once it gets going, it really is a lovely smell, and I would certainly recommend it to fruity tart fans! It is just the right balance of being fruity and sweet, without being at all sickly.

I was also really impressed with how well the smell of this one lingered - even after I put the tealight out. It lingers for absolutely hours, and if I light this one in the evening, I can still detect the smell the following morning.

~~~~~~~~In summary~~~~~~~~All in all I love this tart and wouldn't hesitate to buy it again. I highly recommend it to any Yankee fans who like their fruity scents.

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A lovely candle to give your home a festive atmosphere this winter

Although during most of the year I'm pretty loyal to just 3 or 4 Yankee Candle fragrances and only tend to try out odd new ones every now and again, when it comes to this time of the year I do like to branch out a bit to make our home smell more festive, giving it a warm, cosy and seasonal atmosphere. Previously, my favourite one for this was called Frankincense and Myrhh but unfortunately Yankee, in their wisdom, discontinued that one several years ago so I had to find a new festive favourite. I tried a few in tart form before settling on this Mandarin Cranberry fragrance.

Although it is not part of YC's official "festive" range it is still a great one to burn at this time of year and despite not really liking the fruity fragrances so much, I find that this one is absolutely perfect in giving our home a more autumnal atmosphere without being too sweet or sickly.

I normally use tarts to fragrance my home and only invest in the jar style candles of fragrances that I know I really love as they are expensive and a big investment to make if you end up not really liking the smell. At Christmas though I always invest in a medium jar sized candle. I decided on the medium sized after buying a large one one Christmas and only using half of it. A small one would be too small as these only last between 25 and 40 hours so a medium one, lasting between 60 and 90 hours is just about right for us. I don't light it every day, but from now until Christmas it will be the main one I burn so will probably lit for 2-3 hours at a time 4 or 5 times a week and, judging by last years candle, that should take us right up to when we leave for our Christmas holiday.

I won't go into the details of Yankee Candle or the different forms of candles they do (there are many reviews of them on here if you have been living on another planet for the last few years and want to find out more, including some of my own previous reviews) as these reviews can get very repetitive! I was lucky enough to visit a local garden centre recently who were getting rid of a lot of their YC stock to make way for their Christmas displays and I managed to pick up my medium jar this year for just £12.99, which is quite a bargain as they normally retail for upwards of £15.99 now. If I get the full 90 hours of burning from it that works out at less than 15p an hour of fragrance so I'm more than happy with that.

I started our Christmas candle at the weekend and, as always, when starting a new jar candle I trimmed the wick to 0.5 cm (you should do this before every time you light the candle for optimum burning time and minimal smoking from the wick) and set the candle on the mantlepiece. When using a large or medium jar candle for the first time you should always leave it burning for a minimum of 3-4 hours to get the wax pool on top as large as possible. This will help the candle burn evenly all the way down rather than tunnelling down the middle and will actually give you a longer overall burning time.

Within a few minutes of lighting the candle the fragrance started to waft gently around our living room until gradually after maybe 15 minutes it was really quite strong and noticeable. One of the things I like best about Yankee Candles is the strength of their fragrances and as the ground floor of our house is quite open plan, this medium candle gave off enough scent to be noticeable across the whole of the floor. One of the main reasons I like this fragrance in particular is because it is strong enough to spread the fragrance across quite a big area but it's not too strong as to be overpowering or cloying in your throat.

The fragrance itself is said to be "bursting with the vibrant fruity sensation of sweet, sunny oranges and crisp, tangy cranberries" which I would say is a pretty accurate summation of this scent. It is a really lovely combination of the two fruits so it is zingy without being too citrussy and tart without being too heady. It's sweet and powerful and just gives a really nice, warming smell, making my home feel lovely and festive and creating just the right atmosphere for these cold, dark winter nights.

Some people insist on burning cinnamon type candles or the pine fragranced ones at this time of year but for me this fruitier version of a Christmas scent is just perfect. I find the cinnamon candles much too strong and the pine ones don't really make me feel festive whereas this one has put me in the Christmas mood so much over the last few days that I've now made a start on my Christmas baking and am looking for a decent cranberry and orange cake recipe to see if I can replicate the feeling of this candle in a cake!

I would highly recommend the Mandarin Cranberry fragranced candle if you're looking for something to give your home a nice warming feeling but don't want something that's too strong or spicy. This comes in a nice deep red colour so doesn't even look out of place with Christmas decorations (no, don't worry, even I don't put my deccies up until December! But we had the same fragrance last year and it really complemented our traditional red, gold and green theme) and the picture on the front of orange halves and cranberries looks good too.

Every time we had visitors last Christmas this candle was always lit and everyone, without fail, said how nice it smelt in our house and asked what it was so it is also going to be going into a few stockings this year as a filler (just the small jar size, I'm not that generous!). Not only is it a nice gift for yourself to get you in the festive feel, it will also make a great present. All in all this gets a good 5 stars from me. For a Christmas candle I couldn't ask for anything more and I don't know why they don't actually have it as part of their "festive" fragrance family.

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One of my favourite Yankee fragrances

There are certain Yankee fragrances I return to time and time again when I want something to fill my home with a delicious scent, Black Cherry is an 'old faithful' as is Sweet Strawberry and over the years I've bought both of those dozens of times in many of the different formats that Yankee produce. A recent newly found favourite of mine is Mandarin Cranberry which I bought as a large house warmer jar when it was reduced to half price in Clinton Cards after Christmas last year and although I'd never had the fragrance before it quickly became one that I loved and I continue to buy it now usually in the wax tart form when it frequently appears in my local Clinton's at half price. I bought my latest Mandarin Cranberry wax tart just the other day when it was available at 59p and having exhausted my stash of new fragrances it was time to fall back on something that I knew would offer me a rich, deep fruity scent ideal for wet and windy nights.

Mandarin Cranberry is described by Yankee as "Bursting with the vibrant, fruity sensation of sweet, sunny oranges and crisp, tangy cranberries" and is deep red in appearance with the wax tart being the standard 22 grams in weight. It's a very fruity fragrance, packed with recognisable Orange aroma and sweetened by the addition of Cranberries to make for a delicious room-filling fragrance that packs quite a punch. It's not for the faint-hearted this one, it's very intense in aroma and can't fail to be noticed as it builds in strength at when its at its peak after a couple of hours it will travel round any room it's placed in and make its way round my home being noticeable in both my hallway and kitchen. I find this one ideal for on a night time when I've got my heating on as for me it's a cold-weather fragrance that offers warmth and an air of cosiness, even though it's a fruity fragrance it's also quite deep and whilst Yankee say this one would suit the warmer weather of the Summer months I think this is far more suited to the winter months of the year or when it's cold outside. Given the appalling weather we've been having at the moment I found this to be well suited for melting right now although can see how many would want to have this fragrancing their home when it's warm outside as the Orange fragrance is reminiscent of Summertime so I would definitely say that this fragrance is very versatile.

It's a no-nonsense fragrance, it's not terribly complex or complicated and that's its appeal to me, I know its one that offers me some warmth and a deliciously fruity fragrance which lasts for hours and I always get more than 8 hours worth of fragrance from a single wax tart as it seems able to withstand multiple melts from a number of tea lights before it begins to fade. I had mine melting all last night and into this afternoon and has only just begun to die down now, the fragrance it releases is consistently aromatic although after around 5 hours it does start to weaken a little but remains noticeable until every last drop of fragrance has been used up. I love this one as my enthusiastic review no doubt goes to show and Mandarin Cranberry is a fragrance that I buy quite a lot and always stock up on it whenever I find it cheaply available to buy.

For 59p I consider this one to be an absolute bargain and have no hesitations in recommending it to anyone else, those who like the fruity fragrances that Yankee produce will enjoy this one although do be warned that it is strong so those who prefer the more subtle scents may find this one to be a bit overpowering and may decide to split the wax tart into pieces before melting or adding it to another fragrance to see how it combines with something else. For me it's one that I buy regulalry and have never been disappointed with it in any of the formats I've had, the wax tart is probably the strongest variation of the fragrance but even as a house warmer candle it still offered me plenty of fragrance and it was thanks to that initial introduction when I bought it in a glass jar that well and truly hooked me to its wonderful fragrance and as mentioned at the start of this review, this is one of my favourites.

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Reminds me of Christmas

I started using Yankee Candles last year but had only tried a few from the wide range and so for Christmas I asked for a selection from the brand.

==Availability==

We have a small shop in our village that sells lots of decorative items and she carries some of the range and I was surprised to find these in our Local Asda Living store, my Mam sent away for a selection for me from the yankee shop but there are a huge number of online retailers the only drawback of course being that you cannot have a smell of them before your purchase although if you know what it is you want you can buy them cheaper if you are prepared to buy a few.

==The History==

In 1969 Mike Kittredge was trying to make his mother a gift and so he tried to melt down some crayons, somebody saw what he had made his mother and requested they buy the item from him, he allowed them to buy it and made more from supplies bought with the money and the Yankee Candle was born.

==The Range==

Yankee candles come in many different shapes and sizes which all carry relevant price tags, there are over 100 different fragrances and new ones are released throughout the year for different occasions, my guess is valentines day will be the next target.

This particular tartlet is called Mandarin Cranberry which personally I think sounds like a pretty strange combination, the tartlet is a deep red in colour and I felt had a strange smell to it before burning sweet but musty. The tartlet is packaged in the usual way, a vacuum packed thin plastic wrapper which can be a pain to get into and so I find a pair of scissors to make a little snip the easiest way to open it. The tartlet is the shape of a jam tart which I would gather is where it got it's name from except that this jam tart is full to the top. The tart is about 5cm in diameter so you wouldn't expect to get 8 hours burning time from it but you do if not more although the wax lasts longer than the smell. The front of the packaging has a small sticker on it displaying the name of the tartlet and a picture of two rows of mandarins with an abundance of cranberries in the middle, on the back there is a further sticker and as the tartlet is so small you have some warnings but instead of being in words they are in picture form,

Do not add water Don't melt in a frying pan - who is really that stupid? The tart is 22g and will burn for 8 hours - I believe some of these burn for more than 8 hours and some lose their smell before the 8 hours is up. Do not use with electric Do not leave unattended Do not use near curtains Keep 10cm between candles Keep away from children

You can smell the scent of the candle through the wrapper and so if you are buying any of them in person you do have a good idea what the candle is going to smell like once it is burning.

==My Thoughts==

Once the tart is burning it smells sweet and smells like oranges to me, I wouldn't really know what a cranberry would smell like only the likes of cranberry juice. I personally cannot smell anything but orange but I do quite like the smell. This smell makes me think of Christmas for some reason although i'm not actually sure why. The smell of this tratlet lasted well and I would say I did get the 8 hours burning time promised, i'm not sure I would buy this one again as it wasn't one of my favourites and I think there are much nicer smelling tartlets on the market.

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Delicious fragrance.

I'm really loving the Yankee candle range at the moment and have tried quite a few candles in their extensive collection. I have recently wanted to edge towards using their more fruitier fragranced candles as I have found they are quite effective in off-setting the smells of damp dog fur and nasty odours such as food smells! I had recently used the delightful Sweet Strawberry candle and hoped to buy another one but when I returned to the store they had none in. I replaced that with this lookalike candle, the Mandarin Cranberry. It's the same brilliant bright red colour and has a lively, sugar-sweet scent.

I always buy Yankee candles in their sampler size. This is because I have Yankee candle holders which fit these 2 inch high candles. I recommend purchasing the Yankee holders as they are shaped to match that of the sampler candles (also called votive candles). The candles are slightly wider at the top and the holders are the same shape so when the wax melts you get an even burning right to the bottom of the holder. This means you don't have any wax left over when the wick has burned down.

The Mandarin Cranberry candle is a vibrant cranberry juice coloured candle. It is around 2 inches tall. The candle comes wrapped in a plastic coating which must be removed. This plastic wrap has labels on the front and bottom including a picture which shows the inspiration behind the fragrance. In this case it's a large pile of wet cranberries and sliced mandarin oranges.

The candle's fragrance is just the right strength and does not overpower the senses at all. It has a very sweet, jelly and custard kind of fragrance. It also reminds me of those little Pez sweets you used to be able to get. The notes of cranberry are strong and warm whilst the mandarin is a little sharper and cleaner. Overall the fragrance is very pleasant and is one that I think would be suitable for all areas of the household. I have used this candle in my living room because that's where I want to eliminate bad odours and when I burn the candle it creates a lovely air of sweet, fresh and zesty fruitiness. The citrus and cranberry blend is perfect. It's very effective at covering up bad smells in the home but is also pleasant to experience when you just want a nice clean and delicious scent in the house.

This candle will burn for up to 15 hours although mine didn't seem to last that long - perhaps because I was lighting it quite often because I enjoyed it so much. When burning the candle looks petite and charming and the flame burns steadily but is quite small so it doesn't cast much light or shadow around. The wax turns to a slightly lighter, more orangey red colour as it melts.

I would definitely buy this Yankee candle again as it does what I hoped it would do in releasing a charming fragrance that can offset my dirty doggy smells!

You can buy this candle in several sizes - check the website for more information:

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one of my favourites

Yankee Candle is a USA based company who offer various scented candles, plug ins, diffusers and sprays for the home.

**Mandarin Cranberry**

The Mandarin Cranberry scent is just one of the scents that falls under the fruit category. It is available in tealight, wax tart, votive sample and different jar sizes. This particular scent is described as "bursting with the fruity sensation of sweet, sunny oranges and crisp, tangy cranberries for an uplifting fragrance".

**Design**

I have the votive sampler which comes shrink wrapped. The candle is a deep red colour with a slightly sticky appearance and comes with a long, white wick which runs straight down the middle and finishes on a metal type base.

**Burning**

The candle should be placed within a holder and common sense tells that it should be kept away from fabrics, electricals and children. It has an estimated burning time of around 15hours but should only be burned for a few hours at any one time.

**Availability and Price**

Yankee Candles can be purchased from ebay, Amazon, local stores and www.yankeedoodle.co.uk. The votive samples are usually priced around £1.65. Jars can be bought from around £7.50 upwards.

**My Thoughts**

I love Yankee Candles and the perfect way to decide on favourite scents, is to purchase the samplers which come in all manor of fragrances. Around 2 months ago, I purchased a few from a seller on ebay for £1.52 each. The seller offers 95p postage no matter how many you order and stock a wider selection than my local store so I didn't mind paying a one off postage. I was so happy, I purchased more and they arrived today.

My last batch included this one Mandarin Cranberry which is a 49g size. The title appealed to me and I was so pleased, I purchased another one which arrived in todays batch so I lit it up to rekindle my desire for its scent. The design is basic and the colour eccentric and bright. I have some stunning officfial Yankee Candle holders and once lit, this one looks very pretty through the glass.

**Fill My Room With Your Gorgeous Aroma**

As I already had this one before, I was keen to light it up again and took great pleasure in the scent once more. When unlit, the scent is very sweet and fruity. Once lit, it takes around 20mins to melt a little and the fragrance begins to lift out the holder and seeps around my livingroom. The scent intensifies pretty quickly and is one of the strongest I have used from Yankee Candle.

This is the perfect pick me up as it appears to have the ability to brighten up my room with its scent. It brightens up my mood and I found myself burning this candle during today whilst my son was out and I wasn't feel too well. It lifted my mood a little which was very welcomed. The scent gradually fills my whole livingroom which is surprising and its difficult to imagine so much scent being packed into one little candle.

The little red puddle of wax around the wick, produces the most amazing and uplifting scent. The main aroma is a delectable burst of oranges which feels very homely and welcoming whilst providing an incredible sweetness. Cranberry isn't a scent I usually appreciate but mixed with the orange, it offers a smooth, fruity infusion which is a pleasure to detect everytime I walk back in my livingroom. The scent is even more intensified in a smaller room such as my bathroom.

This scent is perfect for a summers day and the last time I purchased, I had in burning with the windows and balcony open and the scent remained consistent. Walking past the candle, I am often treated to a generous whift of sourness tinged with exotic hints which is amazing.

The candle doesn't burn down all that evenly when lit but once the candle is blown out, it evens out. Today I burned my candle for a good 4hours and it barely reduced in size. Past experience confirms that the candles don't last quite as long as 15hours as I find the last bit of wax a little difficult to light and get the most out of.

**Recommendation and Conclusion**

This is certainly one of my favourite scents and I am going to be purchasing the jar as it appealed to me that much. It is an attractive, welcoming scent but I don't think it will appeal to all based on the level of sweetness it offers. I love it though and fully recommend it to you all!

Thanks for reading ;)

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A nice, subtly scented Yankee Candle

I love Yankee Candles as I'm sure many readers of my reviews will know, and I have a huge, and may I add, beautifully fragranced drawer in which I keep my Yankee tarts and votives. When trying to decide which to use next, I opted for the Mandarin Cranberry as I thought it sounded light, yet still slightly festive, so good for this time of year.

Yankee Candles come in many forms, from large glass jars filled with wax, through to small 'tarts' of wax which are melted in a special burner under the flame of a tealight. The one I bought is a 'sampler' a small votive candle which can be used to test the scent out, before splashing the cash on one of the larger, excruciatingly expensive jar candles.

The mandarin cranberry scent is a nice bright, festive red colour and I found the scent to be very strong when I unwrapped it. I had already tried the mandarin cranberry plug in air freshener many months ago and found it to be a weak and watery scent, but in candle form it seemed to work much better.

The fragrance is very sharp and the combination of mandarins with cranberry works very well. The scent is one that does what it says on the tin. I can smell mandarin and I can smell cranberry in this candle and nothing else! Despite the sharpness it actually smells very homely and thankfully, not too much like a cleaning product as sharp, fruity fragrances sometimes do.

I found that unfortunately when burning the candle, the scent was not as strong as it had been before lighting. It was however, strong enough to fill the room with a subtle festive scent. If you're wanting a highly fragranced candle, then perhaps this isn't the best to go for, as I found it wasn't as intense as others from the Yankee range, but if you're looking for something a little more subtle to linger in the background, this would be a good choice.

The burn time of the votive candle I bought was 15 hours and I found this to be pretty accurate. Unlike cheaper candles, Yankee are made with high quality wax so burn evenly and you aren't left with a ring of wax.

These votives cost around £1.60 each. I buy mine from either collectables on the high street or online at www.yankeedoodle.co.uk

Overall I was quite pleased with this candle. It gives off a nice fruity scent, that is festive without being strong or overpowering. I'd be happy to buy this in a larger size and would fully recommend this Yankee scent.

*review first posted on Ciao

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A juicy, citrusy candle with sweet cranberries that's worth a look.

Following on from the citrus-laced and heavy herby Sage & Citrus by Yankee Candle, if there is another candle by this American company that I have so far admired for being wonderfully fragrant and full of fruity tones, it is "Mandarin Cranberry." This is one of the first candles I ever tried by Yankee Candle that contains mandarin following disappointingly weak "Juicy Orange," and as such it isn't a scent that I always like replaced by the cinnamon and spicy candles that Yankee Candle and I adore. Fruity candles by Yankee Candle and I don't seem to go down very well since Mandarin Cranberry and there are few others in the range that are far from pleasing. The "Sweet Strawberry," scent always gives me a headache for a day whilst one of my mum's favourites, "Pink Grapefruit," makes me feel dizzy and often quite sick!

I paid £13-99 for a medium jar of Mandarin Cranberry not so many months ago for example that has only just about finished. I initially bought it to freshen out a stale box room that has no windows and one of those rather high set permanent ventilation grids that do little to bring in fresh air. The last thing I wanted was another room full of spice, or sweet creamy Christmas tainted smells when I have that already from the various candles I have dotted around the home. The box room also stank badly of old mothballs and dust even though the cupboard was clean to see. Duvets and spare bedding could not be put stored in the room because of the stale smell that would often embed itself in the cloth a couple of days after a wash. Having no plug socket in the closet also means no possible use of any scented plug products, either. When the candle jar starts to wear down in use and you can't light it without one of those funky long stemmed cigarette lighters, grab a cotton bud and just use that or long stemmed matches to get to the wick. Far better than trying to bruise your knuckles with a lighter on tow trying to get inside the glass jar. As with all house warmer jars, this product has a heat insulated base but not heat insulated sides. The glass air tight country grab top keeps the scent for longer if you seal the jar after each use and the product is also dishwasher safe and make great storage jars.

Contained in a deep dark orangey red colour with a peelable clear mix picture label of Mandarins and red cranberries, "Mandarin Cranberry," is a deliciously mouth watering scent that pings out with orange and dark cranberries after a half hour from the moment the candle is lit. It is a scent that is both relaxing to be around as well as a scent that is heavy on the refreshing citrus factor without being too intrusive or inducing sneezing, coughing or like pink grapefruit fragranced candle, the inclination to feel ill.

Although the product claims to be "Mandarin Cranberry," the scent that comes across in the first tone is that of juicy oranges, almost marmalade like, fairly ripe and rounded, yet with a creamy appeal of vanilla that is clear from its middle tone and the base tone having juicy dark fermented cherries, very akin to cranberry. Put all three together and what do you have? Orangey cherry laced flavoured Slush Puppy! Complete with the wax card smell of the paper cup that these slushy drinks come with layered throughout the candle. It's that chalky smell that you'd also find with the "nail varnish" box of football sweetie cigarettes I used to buy as a kid at 5p cost! It took me a couple of months to put a finger of what this candle smells like after all the tones and scents are disregarded, when summing up the total additive of oils when the scent begins to pervade and leave behind a punch like American orange juice on flavour. As a result, even though this appears to be a scented candle range that has been available all year round, it seems to blend in well with the Christmas scents quite well! The beauty of having the wax tarts is that you could half one Christmas scent like "Welcome Christmas," and another half of "Mandarin Cranberry," to create your own scent - such is the beauty of buying the wax tarts.

One advantage of Mandarin Cranberry is that whilst it is a very heavy scent that is more apparent when left burning for a couple of hours, it doesn't need to be left burning for long durations as the scent just appears fuller, pungent and deliciously ripe after an hour. This is probably why my medium candle jar has lasted longer than many other different fruity scented medium jars in the YC range. The box room now smells fragrant, no longer stale and no longer pungent with that horrid smell of mothballs! Likewise clothing and various bed sheets have a vibrant rich smell of oranges and cherries, perfect to complement the likewise fruity fabric conditioner I use.

Mandarin Cranberry is available in most ranges from Yankee Candle such as:

If you have read up on any of my other reviews of Yankee Candle (YC) products then you may know that for the majority of the versions listed, I tend to either buy tart wax forms, house warmer jars, On-the-go Travel air freshener pens and votives. However, some products in other versions are worth checking out and some are well worth avoiding! For example in this respect where Mandarin Cranberry is concerned, one of the better (and cheaper) ways of trying Yankee Candle scent is the thick cardboard air freshener house warmer styled car tab that hangs off the rear central mirror in cars or can be fixed/hung off grab handles in the car. The orangey fragrance works well with tobacco smoke in this instance and has a very strong long lasting factor if you don't get rid of the plastic cellophane wrap when you first open it as gradual release is better than full on instant fragrance that dies out too soon ready to be chucked out. For safety then, it's always better to have the tabs (which have built in threads for purpose hanging) to put them around the grab handles on the roof of your car's interior rather than the mirror at the front as the hanging cellophane, though clear, can be a distraction. I have also bought them for use in closed rooms and even with the best "insulated" room; the fragrance tabs aren't strong enough to scent a room, sadly. Where they work better is for use as drawer liners or hung in clothing cupboards where they seem best suited other than in a vehicle. One product variety to avoid is the plug in scent. It doesn't have enough strength to pass through the triple content, often putting out just the orange tone, which proves to be too strong than everything else. Lastly, the humble votive (or as Yankee Candle put it, "sampler,") should be taken as read with the American company's choice of name. It's a good sample on name but fairly weak and not worth the near £2 pricing.

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Well worth the extra money

Yankee Candle Mandarin Cranberry Housewarmer Jar

Description: Manufacturer: Yankee Candle / Type: Candles.

www.yankeecandle.co.uk

If anyone reads my reviews then they will probably know that I am a huge fan of the Yankee Candle company. I buy from them quite frequently and they also feature on my wish list, so I was thrilled to find a large jar candle in my gifts from Mr Siamese this year. On that note, I hope that everyone had a lovely Christmas and wish you all the best for New Year!

A large Yankee jar candle has a burning time of approximately 110 to 150 hours and costs £17.99 from their website. Different sizes are available and there are heaps of different scents too.

This is the first time that I have tried this scent (Mandarin Cranberry) and I was absolutely delighted with it.

Yankee Candles are great because they last a lot longer than other candles. They also fill your rooms with a delicious and natural scent and the smell lasts right until the candle is finished. They are a bit more expensive that some brands but because they last so well, they are pretty good value for money. I have tried loads of other brands and usually find that the scent doesn't last very long, so I keep returning to Yankee Candles.

The scent of this one is absolutely gorgeous, it mixes the tangy scent or oranges with the sweet smell of cranberries and has a delicious and festive smell that lasts for hours after the candle has been extinguished. The smell isn't at all overpowering but so nice that it will make your mouth water.

In summary, this is a fantastic scent from a company who I really, really like. Yes, they do cost a little more than some brands but they last for ages and keep working right until the end. If you haven't tried these yet then you definitely should, they are fab!

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Deliciously Fragrant

I'm sure I've mentioned at least once before that I lived in America a while back for a whole year while I was on a work placement for my University Degree. I've always been a fan of scented things, be it Pot Pourri, Incense Sticks or scented candles of all different shapes and sizes but never before I lived in America had I owned a yankee candle, neither was I overly familiar with the brand itself.

I lived in a little place called the Woodlands which was about an hours drive north of downtown Houston and just next to the Woodlands mall was the Yankee Candle Co, a store completely dedicated to Yankee candle products from candle jars and tea lights in pretty much any scent imaginable to accessories such as holders and burners. I remember venturing into the store once or twice but for some reason I never got round to buying any of the products.

Now that I'm back home here in the UK my partner and I are into Yankee Candles in a big way and always keep a selection of tarts and jars in the House in a variety of scents to suit whatever mood we're in at the time and also to match the season and as it's coming up to the winter months we selected this madarin cranberry jar.

***A Little Bit Of HIstory***

Believe it or not, the very first Yankee candle was made out of wax crayons way back in 1969 in South Hadley Massachusettes by a young 17 year old lad called Michael Kittredge which was presented to his mother as a christmas gift. After some interest from a neighbour Michael made a second candle and sold it to that very same neighbour and that was the beginning of the Yankee Candle empire. A Simple yet an incredibly effective one as the Yankee Candle is now the number 1 selling fragranced candle on the market and is a brand that is probably recognised in most households world wide, with 150 individually fragranced candles to choose from it is the worlds largest selection of candle and home fragrance products, and you can buy fragranced products for your car too.

***The Yankee Candle Medium Housewarmer Jar***

The medium Housewarmer jar by Yankee candles has a total burn time of 60-90 hours, keeping your room bursting with your favourite fragrance for several days at least and the great thing is that you don't have to use the whole candle straight away as these delightful jars come complete with a Glass lid with a rubber seal to lock in any fragrance left after you've used it.

As soon as you take the lid off there is a burst of fragrance but if you smell the lid itself you get the true essence of the scent contained within the candle which uses fragranced oils to create the highly realistic scents that you get from Yankee Candles. The jars always maintain their fragrance throughout the burn time and as indicated before can be used time and time again, just pop the lid on and when you take it off the next time the candle will be ready to use and there is hardly any wax wastage as the wick burns right down to the bottom of the jar leaving only a small amount of wax residue on the bottom. I imagine if you wanted to recycle the jars you probably could - just melt out the wax residue and it'd make a perfect tea or coffee jar for your kitchen - not something you have to do but if you're into your recycling then certainly something to look at.

***The scent of Mandarin Cranberry***

As it's coming into the winter months and christmas isn't too far away my partner and thought the mandarin cranberry jar would fit in just nicely in the bedroom. This particular candle actually contains natural fruit extracts to create a more authentic fragrance. Just imagine sweet citrus oranges bursting with flavour and tangy cranberries mixed together to create a vibrant fruity scent that isn't too overpowering and leaves your room smelling delightful, like summer and winter all rolled into one. I think there's an even mix of both the mandarin and the cranberry scent as neither appears to be the dominant fragrance. I often find that when you come across a combination of scents or flavours if you will that it is often the case that one scent overpowers the other leaving only a hint of fragrance but that does not appear to be the case with the Mandarin Cranberry.

***Where can you get Yankee Candles***

There are a large number of online stockists of yankee candles and they're not too difficult to come by but the price will vary from sight to sight depending on whether there are product promotions on at the time of purchase. One of my favourite sites to order from is yankeedoodle.co.uk who always seem to have something on offer and are reasonably priced. You will also find Yankee candles and their accessories in most garden centres so gardeners - check it out next time you're there.

***The Cost***

As indicated, the price of these fragranced delights will vary from website to website so it's hard to give a true reflection on cost but the medium housewarmer jar can generally be purchased for around £14.99 which may seem a little pricey, but for the quality of the candle and the burning time alone I think this is well worth it.

***A couple of tips***

When we blow out our candle we leave the lid off for several hours to let the smokeyness settle as the lid captures the fragrance contained within the candle and we have noticed in the past that if you put the lid on straight away the next time you take it off, you can smell the smoke that was captured inside. Also, the most effective way to extinguish your candle is not by blowing it out but by dipping the wick into the wax which will prevent any smoke from forming, but you need a special tool for this. Overall I would recommend Yankee candles to anyone who enjoys a bit of fragrance in the home and I highly recommend the mandarin Cranberry.